


Împreună

by MeltedIceAngel



Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: Arguments, Crying, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fights, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Odd hates being yelled at, Petty Argument, Ulrich does a lot of yelling, Ulrich needs anger management classes, no ships, unless you want to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27358543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltedIceAngel/pseuds/MeltedIceAngel
Summary: Odd was sure the entire school was watching them. It was such a stupid fight. Every fight they’d ever had since they met had been stupid. It had started as Odd not putting Ulrich’s charger back in the plug after he charged his phone, and then it became Odd never doing anything Ulrich asked without being told a hundred times, then Odd getting defensive because Ulrich wouldn’t stop no matter how many times he apologized.Or; Odd and Ulrich get into a fight. Again.
Relationships: Odd Della Robbia & Ulrich Stern, Odd Della Robbia/Ulrich Stern
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Împreună

**Author's Note:**

> Really going to hit that 50 stories on ao3 before the end of the week if it's the last thing I do.

Odd was sure the entire school was watching them. It was such a stupid fight. Every fight they’d ever had since they met had been stupid. It had started as Odd not putting Ulrich’s charger back in the plug after he charged his phone. Then it became Odd never doing anything Ulrich asked without being told a hundred times, then it was Odd getting defensive because Ulrich wouldn’t _stop_ no matter how many times he apologized. 

Somehow, it became this huge, explosive ordeal where Ulrich was yelling about how Odd didn’t care about being a good friend. Yumi and Jeremie had tried to intervene, but Ulrich had shoved both of them away. Even if Yumi could’ve tossed Ulrich to the ground for the mistreatment, they both stepped back to watch with Aelita. Their friends always did say they were amazed by Odd’s ability to hold his ground and remain calm when Ulrich’s hotheadedness took over. Odd was amazed himself a lot of the time, but he could feel as the anger and hurt began to fester, and it was only one more undercut insult before it would release itself. 

Most days, Odd could rationalize Ulrich getting upset with him. After all, most of the petty annoyances were Odd’s fault, and while he had promised himself countless times that he would be better and he would fix these parts of himself, it never seemed to click. Still, Odd hated when Ulrich yelled at him, and five years later Odd still couldn’t figure out the right thing to do or say in response. 

There Odd was, standing stock-still in front of the bench his friends so often sat on while discussing school or, more recently, Xana, while Ulrich screamed accusations of Odd thinking he could walk all over Ulrich because he had been coddled at home. 

“What? Mommy and daddy made your bed for you? Set your clothes out? Did they charge your phone for you?” Ulrich said, and no matter how much Odd knew it was the heat of the moment and not what Ulrich actually thought, it _hurt,_ and it was embarrassing. 

“Ulrich, stop,” Odd tried to stay calm. He tried to pacify whatever had captured Ulrich’s rational mind, but it didn’t help. Ulrich just scoffed at him and continued on. 

“Stop? Me? You never listen!” Ulrich shouted, and something in Odd snapped. 

“You can’t just lose your temper every time you get upset like this!” Odd shouted back. Ulrich’s eyes rose to his hairline, and for just a sliver of time, he stopped talking. Then, out of nowhere, it hit Ulrich that Odd had just yelled at _him,_ and he clenched his teeth and started right on up again.

“Then why don’t you just pull your weight? I’m tired of having to follow you around like you’re five years old!”

“Is that seriously how little you think of me? Honestly?” Odd countered, and Ulrich laughed at him. He actually full belly _laughed_ at him. 

“Pulling the victim card again?” Ulrich shook his head. Yumi looked like she was going to say something, but Odd beat her to it.

“What the Hell is your _problem?_ ” Odd yelled, severing his once calm persona completely. Ulrich was shaking, his face red. This was getting way too out of hand. Odd took an unconscious step back and bowed his head. “Please, calm down. You’re scaring me. Can’t we just talk like normal people?”

“I’ve tried talking to you. I just wish that for once in your life, you’d do something the first time I ask,” Ulrich scoffed, but he unclenched his fists and untensed his body. Odd was so frustrated; absolutely nothing he said was getting through. Usually, there was a point where Ulrich would understand that Odd had simply made a mistake like any other human being, and he would back off. “Sorry doesn’t fix everything.”

God, Ulrich made it sound like he shot him in the back with a loaded gun he promised had the safety on. If Odd had been anyone else, he would’ve wondered what could have been so horrible that Ulrich would stand there and say something to that degree. Sorry doesn’t fix everything? Really?

To Odd's utter disbelief, his eyes and nose began to burn. This was stupid. Odd didn't cry over petty arguments. Yet, when Odd opened his mouth to speak again, he could feel that he was far closer to crying than he thought. 

Odd took a deep breath and said, “I didn’t _do_ anything.” His voice rose two octaves as the tears pooled in his eyes. He tried to breathe through the feeling, but he felt claustrophobic and, for the first time, like Ulrich may really walk away from him still festering and pissed off. “If I did something more than just forget to take my charger out, can’t you just tell me? What are you really yelling at me about?” 

The whole school had eyes on Odd as he wiped away the bitter, frustrated tears. His hands were shaking, the adrenaline and fear manifesting in yet another embarrassing show for people to gawk at. 

Ulrich said nothing. He stared at Odd, his breathing becoming more and more controlled and deep until the anger faded from his stance. He unclenched his jaw, rolled back his shoulders, cocked his head to both sides to loosen the muscles. Then, with a deep, painful sounding sigh, he asked, “Why are you crying?” Odd’s lip wobbled traitorously, and he pressed hard into his eyes as he wiped his hand across them again. 

“I don’t know,” Odd said, and it was a fat lie, but the last thing Odd wanted to do was admit to crying over Ulrich being genuinely upset with him. They’d fought so many times before, but this was the first time it ever felt like he had no say in the matter, and it terrified him. 

“Stop,” Ulrich whispered, and his face fell to look at the floor. “It’s not you. It’s something at home. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. You can be mad at me, yell back, whatever; just please stop crying.” 

Odd looked at Ulrich for a second before covering his face with his hand. There was a hand rubbing soothingly on his back and another, more solid one, on his shoulder, but all he could focus on was keeping himself from sobbing over a stupid fight that he and Ulrich would likely forget come next week. 

Maybe it was the fact he was already feeling homesick. Or the fact that Jeremie had also gotten on his case the day before because he’d forgotten to throw something away before leaving his room. Or maybe it was the art block he had or the fact he couldn’t seem to get the moves down in the new dance they were going over in his dance elective. 

Maybe it was the fact Xana had just returned, and suddenly there was the real possibility of every fight being their _last_ fight. The thought of Ulrich walking away from him, seething and upset, made Odd sick. What if the last thing Odd saw of Ulrich was his back as he turned away?

“I don’t know where you’re at, but try to grab onto us. Get your feet back on the ground,” Ulrich’s voice brushed against Odd’s ears. 

“I’m sorry. I’m just forgetful. I didn’t mean to--” 

“You don’t have to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. It was a little, tiny, insignificant thing that I should have _never_ blown out of proportion. You’re a good friend, and I need to stop taking my personal shit out on you,” Ulrich said. Odd wiped away the tears that were somehow still falling and looked up at his friend. When had he gotten so tall? Odd had grown enough to stand a few inches over Jeremie and Aelita, and Ulrich _still_ stood as high as a tree. 

“Yeah, you do,” Odd said. “But I understand. I just wish you’d talk to me before you get so bad that me leaving my iPad cover off is enough to argue.”

“I know. I know, I…” Ulrich trailed off and shook his head. “Sometimes, I forget that not everyone is my dad.”

“You’re not your dad, either,” Odd said, and Ulrich pulled his lip up in a sad attempt at a half-smile before pulling Odd into an awkward hug. It wasn’t the first time the two of them had hugged, but it was the first time with everyone in the entire school watching them. They pulled back from each other and smiled bitterly, both of them unable to meet each other’s eyes. 

“Della Robbia,” Jim’s unforgiving teacher voice filtered over the now calm atmosphere. Odd closed his eyes with a groan. “Come with me.” 

Somehow, Odd ended up at the end of the hallway with Jim leaning over him critically. They stared at each other tediously before Jim smiled and patted him on the back. 

“You’ve got a good heart, Della Robbia. I don’t know what I would have done had I been in your shoes, but I never would’ve held it together like you. I don’t know much about Ulrich’s home life, or his school life, really,” Jim trailed off here, looking knowingly at Odd. “But, I know that ever since you shoved your way into his life, he’s been a lot happier.”

“It’s not me. Yumi, Jeremie, and Aelita--”

Odd got interrupted again, with, “No. I get where you’re coming from, but Ulrich has known Jeremie for almost ten years, and he was still gloomy, and a loner up until you came in. I don’t know what it is, but everything changed when you got here.” 

Odd tried to take that as a compliment, but really it was Lyoko that had that effect on Ulrich, not him. 

“Thank you,” Odd said, and Jim gave him another solid pat on the back. 

“Now, four hours of detention for that scene,” Jim said, crossing his arms and trying to look as stern as possible. Odd just about grumbled before Jim waved him off with a smile. “I’m kidding. I think you’ve gone through enough today. Go find your friend and make him see what he’s messing with before _I_ do.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you,” Odd turned and ran, fully intending to go find Ulrich. 

In the background, Odd could almost hear Jim yelling, “Don’t call me sir, I’m not that old yet!” 

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meltediceangel (helps pay for medical school)
> 
> Always had a head canon that when Odd and Ulrich argue, like really, really argue, he cries. Although, now that I re-watch the show, I almost feel like it would be the opposite. Oh well, for this rendition of my fanfictions based on one of my own headcanons, Odd is the one who cries when confronted. 
> 
> Man, I don't know what I'm going to do when I finish rewatching this show. I'm already on episode 50. 
> 
> Someone requested an Odd gets a text from a "girl" but really it's an old, perverted guy that isn't Xanafied based on that one episode where Odd gets tossed in the sewer thing because a random "girl" messaged him. (Was Odd always this stupid?) Also want to try a low blood sugar story to explain away Odd's constant eating but never gaining weight thing. Idk. Really these fics are just practice for my bigger stories, but I'm sadly enjoying writing them, lol.


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